The two Bruins were hurt during last Thursday’s 7-4 loss against Buffalo. Paille took a Tyler Myers high stick to the face (resulting in an eye/face injury) while Thornton suffered a concussion during a first period fight with Sabres enforcer John Scott.

Paille took part in some drills at practice this week, but took himself out of the contact stuff so he didn’t re-injure his eye. Thornton, meanwhile, has resumed skating on his own but has yet to rejoin teammates.

It’s expected that AHL Providence call-ups Jamie Tardif and Lane MacDermid will play for the second straight game — both suited up in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Toronto, with Tardif registering two hits in just over eight minutes of action and MacDermid getting in a pair of scraps with Maple Leafs tough guy Mark Fraser, scoring this victory in the second scrap:

If there’s a silver lining for Paille and Thornton, it’s that they were hurt during Boston’s lightest part of the schedule. The Bruins played on Saturday in Toronto, tomorrow (Wednesday) in Montreal, then won’t play again until Saturday in a home date against Tampa Bay.